Refineries cut operating rates as fuel reserves grow, more news

-Refineries unexpectedly cut their operating rates last week as fuel reserves continued to grow, according to the Energy Information Administration. Via Bloomberg, refinery operating rates were expected to increased from 94.6% to 95.1%, but instead fell to 93.1%.

-Kinder Morgan is soliciting shipping contracts for a new pipeline that would carry NGLs from the Marcellus and Utica shales to the Texas Gulf Coast. Via FuelFix, Kinder Morgan said it would convert 964 miles of two existing natural gas lines stretching from Ohio to Natchitoches, La. It would then build 200 miles of new pipe from Natchitoches to Mont Belvieu, Texas. The pipeline could be in service by 2018.

-The city council of Denton, Texas, today repealed a voter-approved ban on fracking within the city. Via the Associated Press, the council said the repeal would undermine lawsuits filed by the Texas General Land Office and the Texas Oil and Gas Association after the ban was passed. Anti-fracking activists are pushing for the repeal of a law signed last month by Gov. Greg Abbott barring local ordinances that ban fracking.

-The Houston Ship Channel could remain closed until Thursday due to Tropical Storm Bill, Platts reports. The storm dumped as much as 1.48 inches of rain on the Houston area during a three-hour period on Wednesday. The channel has been closed since Monday evening.